The importance of demographics is not a new reality. The 2008 and 2012 Presidential elections, in addition to recent Census Bureau reports and tools illustrate this point. The Obama campaign proved how important demographic data mining was and how important it will continue to be. They were able to mobilize and reach specific voters using Dashboard, an online field office for Obama volunteers. Dashboard helped volunteers build voter files. These files included basic voter data along with enhanced data – helping them reach specific voters, in specific states, in specific congressional districts. Knowing which voters live in your specific state and/or congressional district helps government officials and volunteers effectively govern and campaign.

My Congressional District

It is always fun to research the demographics of the congressional district you grew up in, went to college in, currently live in or plan on moving to. Last week, the Census Bureau introduced a new, interactive demographic, economic and social tool, My Congressional District. The tool gives users access to selected statistics in every congressional district. Stats are broken into five different categories: a.) People b.) Jobs c.) Housing d.) Economic e.) Education.

Do you want others to view this information, but do not know how? You can simply embed on your website district (and the District of Columbia) statistics for viewers to see. So go ahead and play around with this nifty tool – you won’t be disappointed.